Army vet charged with scamming VA

Jun. 4, 2014 - 07:25AM
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CLARKSBURG, W.VA. — A Bridgeport man has been charged with falsifying documents to inflate his Veterans Administration disability benefits and with fraudulently obtaining drugs from the VA.

U.S. Attorney William Ihlenfeld announced the 10-count indictment against 65-year-old Thomas Cueto on Tuesday. If convicted, Cueto faces up to 10 years in prison on one count and four years each on the remaining nine charges. Federal prosecutors are also seeking to recover $480,000 in VA benefits they claim Cueto has collected since 1999.

According to prosecutors, Cueto served in the Army from 1969 to 1972 and was awarded disability benefits for post-traumatic stress disorder. They claim Cueto lied about his service awards and received narcotics from VA medical personnel after falsely stating that he was not receiving drugs from any private providers.